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LGBTQ got a affirming shout-out: We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

On a light note, Michelle Obama looked fierce, in many nice outfits and new hair, and gave some side eye (allegedly):

People should be more impressed IMO -- not just the LGBT portion, and it was exceptional to not just mention Stonewall but put it in the context of Selma and Seneca Falls. But the entire speech was the most liberal inaugural speech of our collective lifetime. OK, so maybe there's still stuff his administration does/will do that many liberals don't agree with, but that's beside the point.

And keep in mind that this comes after the most liberal party convention in our lifetime. It's like liberals aren't afraid to voice their positions anymore, by that I mean not activists but the politicians. It's a decided shift.

I was emotional that the president spoke about equality for gay Americans--the first time gay rights were mentioned in an inauguration. The minister did as well. The poet was an openly gay man. I loved that the day fell on MLK Day. And, swearing in on the Bibles of Lincoln and MLK was poignant. It finally feels like there is a big change in this country. Yes, there is still far to go, but it feels like there has been a sea change in just the last four years.

Kelly Clarkson has never been better. Man, she did such a great job. I knew she was good, but she reaffirmed that. Beyonce was good as well, but Kelly's performance was especially good.

If true, she did some good stage craft, by removing the monitor from her ear, to make it look like she was getting feedback. Although, even if you're lip syncing, you could still get feedback that throws you off.

(Do you all remember when Obama expressed his personal opinion about gay marriage, and some people in this forum wondered if he'd shot himself in the foot?)

(Canadian Martin Short was on this weeks Bill Maher and he expressed the outsiders view that Americans believe in the fallacies -- about impossibilities for social changes and policy changes. When change is often possible.)

(It's silly to invite a star cellist to play if the typical weather precludes him playing live. What's Beyonce's excuse? A little authenticity would have been appreciated.)

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I do believe presidents have to power to influence views. Under Bush, we had several state amendments. It felt like we were going backward. President Obama did not make all this change happen. The hard work of activists and ordinary people have brought the change. And, yes, gay characters in film and TV make a big difference.

But, a president has the power to take all that hard work, and give it a very loud voice. Hell, Kennedy influenced men wearing hats. And, I do get tired of hearing the younger generations are awful. Actually, in terms of tolerance and being concerned about their fellow man, the younger generations have the old beat.

About Beyonce, I like an artist who can sing live. I hope it was due to a sore throat. Otherwise, why do it? Turn it down and let someone else do it.

I enjoyed how they played Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force ‎– I Wonder If I Take You Home and Shannon's Let the Music Play at one of the inaugural balls. Clearly some 50 year old homosexual was DJing. Or is that era's music in fashion at the moment? If so I may have to get a DJ job. Again.

I enjoyed how they played Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force ‎– I Wonder If I Take You Home and Shannon's Let the Music Play at one of the inaugural balls. Clearly some 50 year old homosexual was DJing. Or is that era's music in fashion at the moment? If so I may have to get a DJ job. Again.

You cant go back to work , you will lose your Ryan White Amish Cheese Copay Assistance benefits .

I think President Obama inspired this Louisville couple to ask for a marriage license and get arrested. I wondered whether his real name is really Bojangles. And, he is a Baptist preacher. Why? But, I was impressed with them.

I think President Obama inspired this Louisville couple to ask for a marriage license and get arrested. I wondered whether his real name is really Bojangles. And, he is a Baptist preacher.

we had a group of same-sex couples apply for licenses here in SC a few weeks ago; but no one was arrested because they didn't commit any crimes - and they still brought attention to the issue.

Someone needs to tell this "preacher" that Baptists believe homosexuality is a sin and that he is part of the problem by supporting a religion that stigmatizes gays, ruins their lives, and doesn't support same-sex marriage

"Bojangles" can't be his real name though. There are some crazy names in the South; but I just can't imagine anyone naming their child after a fast food chicken restaurant

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leatherman (aka mIkIE)

All the stars are flashing high above the seaand the party is on fire around you and meWe're gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes- Pet Shop Boys chart from 1992-2015Isentress/Prezcobix

"Bojangles" actually originally comes from the nickname of the black man who taught Shirley Temple how to tap dance in the 1930's. There is a statue of him in Richmond as that is where he was from. Both Fred Astaire and Duke Ellington paid tribute to him in pieces with the name "Bojangles" in the title, he was that influential.

I've always thought it unsavory that someone named a fried chicken restaurant chain after a black person. But hey, it began in Charlotte! However, I will admit that their country ham biscuits are amazing. We don't have this chain up here but I have eaten at it in North Carolina, though I haven't had the chicken only breakfast.

I am stumped. What is the purpose of your reply #27 to Joe's with a photo of a black male then the same male, larger, and with a pop art background?

What am I missing? This must be too intellectual for me so I'm asking you to translate, please.

Em

Oh the first is the source photo of the Successful Black Man meme, and the second is the blank canvas usually used for the wording. Google it. I didn't bother selecting a text.

(The spider is from the "Misunderstood Spider" meme. The "One simply does not" is Boromir meme combined with Sweet Brown. Whether or not if --- white people fascinated by black-based memes (Sweet Brown, Antoine Dodson, etc.) -- is racist, or not, is a good topic of discussion. And on what criteria do white liberals call each other racist - what a sinkhole. There are memes related to that, too. Liberal Douche Garofalo, for example. How about First World Problems.

A few seemed to think the thread title is racist. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I don't see the quote as racist. Quotes like this "you know what they say..." - followed by "Black don't crack" or "Once you go black..." have been in popular use for years, by blacks and by white people who are not racist. They are often used to troll white racists, as a matter of fact. "Oh, she's dating a black man?" And then a person will say, "Once you go black...." It is referential. Subverts racism. And trolls the person who is so scandalised by inter-racial relationships.

Many people don't understand the subversive possibilities of appropriation, nor the postmodern referentiality of memes. Or, its also easy to consider meme culture cynical. (I personally believe race is entirely "constructed" anyway. But society doesn't see it this way, for sure.)

Now the reference of my thread title - is to the victorious, happy feeling by many this week, in the liberal media, that Obama's reelection is extremely meaningful. Does it mean race doesn't matter? Or does it mean in fact that his blackness is a VALUE? There was considerable talk, 4 years ago, about whether a minority could be elected US President. And then one was. And then there was considerable fear, last year, that an Obama defeat would be a major setback to civil rights in the US. That it would be considered proof of a "failed experiment". So, there was joy, this week, in media commentary, (not to mention liberal culture and black culture) about the meaning of Obama's re-election for civil rights.

This, combined with the fact that Obama decided to link Selma and Stonewall and Seneca Falls. In other words, I personally feel, that America affirmed that it VALUES Obama's minority status, in re-electing him. Particularly stark racial and class politics throughout the campaigns. Did we want a representative of White Patriarchy, blatantly clumsy and offensive and discriminatory vis a vis "minority" (who, as the Republicans must now consider, are no longer a minority of the voting block), and a complete reactionary figure - Romney. Or Obama's hope, possibility and inclusion. So elegant, smart, modern, collected, shrewd.

I think Obama delivered, in the inauguration speech, exactly what people were hoping. Its a shocking riposte to the white patriarchy. I can't imagine any white man being President and saying that.

So we got our minority president, a "black" man, and he clearly explained to the entire country that civil rights are for everybody, including gays. No going back. Clutch the pearls.

Moving on...

The reporting on the inauguration, and Internet babble about it, was ripe with discussions bubbling out of American's continuing struggle to grapple with "race", and minority, and civil rights. I consider this a good thing, even if it is messy. The right is losing... (Thus, my little link to Michelle's side eye, which has been discussed in the context of racism.)

I also thought the inauguration was a beautiful display of "black is beautiful". So suck on that, patriarchy.

Yes, call me a racist. So astute.

« Last Edit: January 23, 2013, 07:00:50 PM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I enjoyed how they played Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force ‎– I Wonder If I Take You Home and Shannon's Let the Music Play at one of the inaugural balls. Clearly some 50 year old homosexual was DJing. Or is that era's music in fashion at the moment? If so I may have to get a DJ job. Again.

Maybe I'll pull out my vinyl and record some m4a versions of these for you:

Seroconverted: Early 80sTested & confirmed what I already knew: early 90s

Current regimen: Atripla. Last regimen: Epzicom, Sustiva (since its inception with NO adverse side effects: no vivid dreams and NONE of the problems people who can't tolerate this drug may experience: color me lucky )Past regimensFun stuff (in the past): HAV/HBV, crypto, shingles, AIDS, PCP

Nobody called you a racist, nor suggested you were racist, we only commented on the title of the thread. Excuse me if I seem sensitive to racial overtones in your title, because it's not as if President Obama has not been subjected to such "code words" since his election. I believe that when a person impacts history, as President Obama has, that they deserve the utmost of respect, if not for the person, at least for the office.

I simply questioned your choice of words, when you obviously understand some interpretations of those words.

My first reply to your thread was #16 and because I didn't write what I truly feel about your thread title -- I deleted it before your next thread visit.

Your 'meme' post of explanation reinforces what I thought initially. I did as you suggested and googled. Did you read any of the accompanying text regarding the genesis or did you simply copy/bolt/paste? http://memegenerator.net/Successful-Black-Man

Joe's correct -- no one called you a racist -- just your thread title. (head scratching here -- is there a difference when you're not being paid like Rush to generate bile?) I hate the title, for a host of reasons. Using the brevity leads to clarity model -- it's offensive.

Many people don't understand the subversive possibilities of appropriation, nor the postmodern referentiality of memes. Or, its also easy to consider meme culture cynical. (I personally believe race is entirely "constructed" anyway. But society doesn't see it this way, for sure.)

While many people may not understand "the postmodern referentiality of memes" and race may be a "construct", racism (thinly veiled or overt) is not. It is something most people are sensitive to. You can't decide what others should and should not find offensive, Meech. Even if you didn't intend it as such, the thread title appears to be, or comes across as distasteful.

Nobody called you a racist, nor suggested you were racist, we only commented on the title of the thread. Excuse me if I seem sensitive to racial overtones in your title, because it's not as if President Obama has not been subjected to such "code words" since his election. I believe that when a person impacts history, as President Obama has, that they deserve the utmost of respect, if not for the person, at least for the office.

I simply questioned your choice of words, when you obviously understand some interpretations of those words.

Joe

You can find the thread title racist. I explained my choice of words and I don't find it racist. That is called disagreement. And this is called a conversation. And you seem to be saying I don't show respect for Obama. However I just carefully explained how much I do, so, again, disagreement.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

While many people may not understand "the postmodern referentiality of memes" and race may be a "construct", racism (thinly veiled or overt) is not. It is something most people are sensitive to. You can't decide what others should and should not find offensive, Meech. Even if you didn't intend it as such, the thread title appears to be, or comes across as distasteful.

It isn't hard to grasp why it is so.

Exactly. I agree. I don't think its distasteful, i think its "playful" with language. You think its offensive and distasteful. That's your opinion.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

My first reply to your thread was #16 and because I didn't write what I truly feel about your thread title -- I deleted it before your next thread visit.

Your 'meme' post of explanation reinforces what I thought initially. I did as you suggested and googled. Did you read any of the accompanying text regarding the genesis or did you simply copy/bolt/paste? http://memegenerator.net/Successful-Black-Man

Joe's correct -- no one called you a racist -- just your thread title. (head scratching here -- is there a difference when you're not being paid like Rush to generate bile?) I hate the title, for a host of reasons. Using the brevity leads to clarity model -- it's offensive.

I understand the challenge of dealing with Successful Black Man. Many people were unable to engage in play, expected by its creator, and wrote offensive examples of it. They thus became examples of intractable racism in society.

Im not sure but it seems you are comparing me to Rush, so you think I generate bile. Thats your opinion. I just carefully explained that the re-election of Obama is considered a victory for civil rights, a riposte to entrenched racism, and probably has benefits for other minorities, such as my own - gays, and can be interpreted as a black man's contribution to a universal struggle against hegemony. So my offensive bile is leftist.

You have your right to consider it offensive bile and certainly should express your opinion. Why did you hesitate?

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

Look -- if someone has to type out the equivalent of a dissertation in order to explain their words, they should see how what was written just may be seen as offensive. EVEN IF YOU INTENT WAS DIFFERENT. The fact that you are simply digging your heels in speaks volumes.

Mecch - You took my reference to Rush out of context, but that's fine. You imply I'm having a 'challenge' with Successful Black Man - nope not so.

I know what my rights are and why did I hesitate on my first post? What I truly wanted to write to you would have landed me in an AM time out--not a first-time warning, a time out.

Your definition of 'playful', in a word, blows. And please don't write to tell me this is my opinion and I have a right to express it -- that, I know. I also know this is the last post for me in this thread.

You imply I'm having a 'challenge' with Successful Black Man - nope not so.

No I don't think you have a challenge with that meme. I think many people on the Internet did, and thus filled it in with racist words. But the original intent of the meme was not to generate racism, rather to question it.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

This is a cross between a State of the Union speech with an agenda and a partisan rally given to the DNC. And so, I think, the president lost a real opportunity. Look, they usually talk about what? When I was a kid, Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill. What was he talking about? Stonewall. That’s a barroom brawl in Greenwich Village in 1969, when cops were hassling gays in their bar, and the gays fought back and threw them all out. Does that belong in a presidential inaugural?

My wish: Push it further. The US is supposed to be secular, and should be based on equal rights. So go all the way.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

While I can agree to disagree, some of you cannot. "Once you go black" is not (in my opinion) racist. But if some of you think it is, that's fine.

Oh really? Why don't you google "once you go black" and see where that leads you. I might even accept your convoluted reasons, if like I said before you hadn't doubled down on the racism with YOUR choice of the pic in post 18. No, isn't wasn't stereotyping or racist. Oh and cut the condescending "I can agree to disagree, some of you cannot" crap. We all no better.

While many people may not understand "the postmodern referentiality of memes" and race may be a "construct", racism (thinly veiled or overt) is not. It is something most people are sensitive to. You can't decide what others should and should not find offensive, Meech. Even if you didn't intend it as such, the thread title appears to be, or comes across as distasteful.

It isn't hard to grasp why it is so.

It may not be hard to grasp for many of us, but it obviously is for the OP. Maybe, if his replies were not so pompous and condescending and he possessed a little empathy for the views of others, the conversation would be different.

Mecch, don't bother with another lecture on how you are right and the rest of us are wrong, as I've changed my mind. In this thread, you ARE being racist and we both know it.

I will now take my leave, before I tell you what I really think of your attitude regarding this subject.

2. I don't believe that you are racist, but this discussion has degenerated into an exercise (on your part) to deny racism by using words, images, memes, and concepts that you don't seem to truly understand. That doesn't make you a racist individual, but it makes you a defender of this vile and disgusting behavior.

3. Using the "appropriation" of racist language and derogatory images as an excuse to continue with your original topic shows the weakness of your argument.

4. You want to impress other members by throwing around notions of "postmodernism," but it is evident that you don't even know the true meaning of that word.

5. If you're going to write some long, pretentious, patronizing, and contradictory response as an attempt to defend your own intellectual value you should display a better command of punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure (since when does a paragraph begin with a parenthetical sentence?). After all you have always regarded yourself as the grammar police of the AIDSmeds forums.

6. Again, this is a really sad and disrespectful thread. Admit that you're wrong and let it go. In your responses to Em, Hal, Joe, Spacebar, and Mike all that you have done is show your ass.

Best regards,

The person who was probably most offended by this thread, but who had wanted to stay out of it as I am often the one who gets most bent out of shape when it comes to discussions of race. After this post I will remain out of it.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."